Lost Ark thanks you for playing "despite the game not being perfect"
"I express my gratitude and will strive to fix other inconveniences as fast as possible."
Lost Ark director Gold River has opened up on the lore of Lost Ark’s universe, "his passion for crafting new narratives, and why Elgacia is such a significant part of the game and more".
River also dropped a few teasers for what the team has planned for 2023 and beyond, too.
In a deep dive interview posted to the official website, River said that whilst the storyline for Chapter 1 is the most detailed, the "general storyline" is complete right up until the end of Chapter 3, although the details are "still being developed by our Scenario Team".
"Of course, there are cases where the storyline changes spontaneously," River explains. "The overall storyline has never changed, but the importance of certain main characters and the main focus of the story changes as the game updates. Sometimes, some characters get much support from the players unexpectedly. As lore is one of the many factors that consist Lost Ark, sometimes the focus of the story gets adjusted based on the game system, contents, and order of the update."
River says he is "embarrassed to say" that he didn't expect Jederico to be so popular, and once the community's fondness for him became apparent, "his role got a bit bigger in the overall lore".
His own personal favourite character is Kadan, whom he put "extra effort" into creating. River also teased that "you will have a chance to meet Kaden in different ways. We are currently preparing something, and hope you will look forward to it".
River also acknowledged recent issues and complaints, too.
"To all of the Western adventurers out there, I would like to thank you all for continuing to enjoy Lost Ark despite the game not being perfect," River adds. "I am aware of both the recent community sentiments regarding some inconveniences, and the many positive comments for Elgacia. I am once again touched and also feel apologetic at the same time. I express my gratitude to all the adventurers who love Lost Ark, and will strive to fix other inconveniences as fast as possible. Many discussions are happening between us and Amazon Games, and we will continue to improve the game."
And for those thinking Chapter 1 is all but told? Think again. According to River, a "true highlight of Chapter 1 is yet to come".
"Elgacia is just the ignition point of the highlight," he teased. "The Amazon Games' version will see continuous updates which add the Elgacia Epilogue, Pleccia, and Voldis, while in Korea, the tempo of Lost Ark's story will pick up pace. More and more secrets will unravel, finally leading to the true pinnacle of the Chapter 1. I cannot wait to deliver this interesting story to all you global adventurers out there."
For the full interview – and it's a lengthy one – head on over to the official website.
As part of its first anniversary celebrations, Lost Ark recently gave us a lowdown on the game's most surprising statistics, including confirmation that players died to Guardians far more than the other way around, with 1,672,050,487 player deaths against 99,281,741 dead Guardians.
As for PvP? Across 16,294,441 PvP matches, we killed each other 192,894,473 times and dealt out - wait for it – 29,695,327,291,260 damage.